Harlan is a city in and the county seat of Shelby County, Iowa, along the West Nishnabotna River. The population was 4,893 at the time of the 2020 census.
History
Harlan was platted in 1858. It was named for one of Iowa's early U.S. Senators, James Harlan. Harlan was designated county seat in 1859. The town was incorporated on May 2, 1879.
On April 26, 2024, a multiple-vortex EF3 tornado tracked west of Harlan during a major regional outbreak. Although ground-level damage assessments supported a maximum intensity rating of EF3 with per hour winds, a mobile Doppler on Wheels (DOW) radar unit scanning the storm near Harlan measured winds aloft reaching roughly per hour: an intensity equivalent to an EF5 tornado. The storm severely damaged on rural farmsteads across Shelby County before finally dissipating.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.